10 Brilliant Ideas – Gift Guide For The Adventure Traveler

We’ve always liked Thanksgiving because its focused on sitting down to a meal with the ones you love, and sharing all the many things we’re thankful for. We may be far from our family and friends, but our hearts are filled with nothing but gratitude.

Oddly enough, after this wonderful day of feasts and giving thanks comes the next day. Black Friday. The day of mass chaos, insanely early door busters, long lines and all-around madness. It’s quickly followed up by Cyber Monday and then a whole bunch of other “get em’ while their hot” days.

It’s the holidays. Gifts will be given, and retailers know you’re lookin’ to buy.

Which is why we suggest staying far, far away from any store for at least the next month. Unless you’re morbidly curious and just really, really want to fight the crowds to see what all the fuss is about.

Luckily, I don’t think we have much to fear hear in French Polynesia. Unless the locals do black Friday deals on stalks of bananas and mangoes, I think we’re in the clear.

But for the rest of you in modern civilization, you are in prime buying time. So here is our tried, tested and Santa approved tip: Make a list and check it twice.

Make a list of everyone you want to give gifts to, think of the perfect gift and write it next to their name. Voilà, if it’s not on the list, you don’t need it, so don’t buy it. Seriously. If you commit to your gift list, it can save you loads of cash and time.

What’s that you say? You can’t think of the perfect gift for the adventure travel junkies in your life!

No way…that’s sooo crazy…because we just put together this brilliant gift guide! Ok, brilliant might be an exaggeration, but it is all stuff we use and love. It’s ten gift ideas that if we didn’t already own, we would surely call them brilliant.

Some new gear and a few oldies, but they’re all goodies. Hopefully, this helps spark some ideas or maybe you even found a few things to add to your personal wish list. All the items are listed out below with links and discount codes if we scored any. If your curiosity has been sparked but you still have questions, ask away in the comment box below.

Splat Flexible Tripod

We were looking for an alternative to the Gorilla Pod and a way to capture underwater timelapse, then we found this little flexible tripod. There are no moving parts like our Gorilla Pod, it’s just one solid flexi-bendy piece. Once we received it, we were sad we didn’t get two!

Ours is the SLR model made for larger cameras, but it works great for our Action Cameras underwater too. They do have a smaller tripod specifically for action cameras and one for compact cameras as well.

BLUETOOTH, WIRELESS HEADPHONES

After our first long passage to Panama we quickly realized having a cord attached to a phone/Kindle/iPad is not a wise idea. When we have to jump into action the last thing we want to worry about is knocking the phone off into the ocean or getting a long cord caught around a winch.

With wireless headphones, listening to a podcast or dancing like nobody is watching on passage is way less cumbersome. Plus, the two sets we bought are waterproof so they can handle the humid, salty environment.

We have two brands and they both work well, the Anker has little magnets which are great when you take them out of your ears, but the battery life on the Bluephonic seems better.

V60 Pour-Over Coffee Brewer

After hiking to a coffee farm at the top of a cloud forest and seeing how the most expensive coffee in the world is brewed, we realized our knock-off pour-over wasn’t going to cut it any longer. Now we brew with a V60 like the pros. It’s a hands-on process with greater control that I thoroughly enjoy. The V60 turns our morning cup of joe from a ho-hum to a hell-ya coffee experience.

*We searched high and low for a V60 in Panama and Ecuador, yet we could only find the plastic version. I’d totally go for metal if we could’ve found it, if your house doesn’t crash into waves (like ours) the Glass or Ceramic would also work great.

Sport A Seat

Sundowner time, by many sailor’s accounts, is the most important part of the day. Why sit on the hard fiberglass deck when you could wiggle your butt into something more cushy for that hour long rite of passage into the night. There’s plenty of options for tooshie cushions. But, these chairs are top notch, made with marine grade steel parts, Sunbrella fabrics (custom colors too) and super dense foam. Your butt will not be disappointed.

$10 Discount and Free Shipping if you use the discount code “WYNNS” at checkout.

WATERPROOF CAMERA BACKPACK

This waterproof pack holds our Mavic Drone with remote and 3 batteries, plus our iPad, Sony a7, a spare lens, shotgun mic, our RX100 and all the cords, cards and spare batteries along with our compact tripod. That’s a lotta gear to keep from getting drenched. It’s rated IPX3 storm-proof. So, its awesome for sailing in a squall, hiking in the rain or a normal day exploring in the dinghy.

MEGABOOM WIRELESS SPEAKER

We purchased the original MEGABOOM almost 4 years ago and this bad boy has been with us ever since. 20 hours of play-time on one charge, waterproof and some serious bass comes out of this little speaker…and the updated model sounds ever better.

You can connect over 150 of these speakers in what they call #PartyUp…we keep telling ourselves we should buy one or two more so we can have sound inside, outside and on the forward deck. But, we just carry it around wherever we want music. We find these portable speakers to be way more useful (and provide better sound) than the stereo system installed in the sailboat (and of course, there’s no install needed with Bluetooth speakers).

VIRB – NOT THE AVERAGE ACTION CAM

What makes this camera awesome is the G-Metrix data it captures. Speed, altitude, hang time, heart rate, GPS, pitch, yaw, roll, wind speed, depth…basically when we connect it to our chart plotter or smart watch, we can capture crap loads of cool data to prove we did “it”.

Fisher Blowfish iSUP

We’ve paddled all around the world on these inflatable Standup Paddle Boards. Alaska, Lake Michigan, Bahamas, Panama and French Polynesia to name a few. Wide, stable design with removable fin, Kevlar reinforced seams, camera mount and a 310 lb capacity (yep, one board holds Nikki and I both, no problem).

One big tip: If you’re going to buy an inflatable SUP make sure you don’t buy the cheap ones, ours are rock solid…which is why they are more expensive than the budget brands.

If you buy from Fisher Boards use the discount code: WYNN10 for 10% off and free shipping!

*There’s a new version “RX100 VI” but it doesn’t mean it’s better. The main difference in the V vs VI is a mega zoom lens, which is awesome, but you lose a couple stops in the maximum aperture. We film a lot in low light where every f-stop counts, so I’m in no rush to upgrade.

Still need more ideas? You can always check out our Gear Store. We never recommend anything we don’t have personal experience with and love. If you shop on Amazon, buy electronics from B&H or any other product listed in our Gear Store, please consider clicking through here on our website (there is an Amazon link at the bottom of every page). If you click an affiliate link, add anything into your cart, we get a small commission on the purchase you make in the following 24 hours. There’s no added cost to you, but it does make a big difference for us. Thank you for the consideration!

But Most importantly, back to the giving thanks part. We are so very thankful to have each and every one of you along for the journey. Wherever you are in the world, we hope your holidays are filled with love, laughter and loads of adventure.

Hello there! I honestly don’t know what to say, so I am going to tell you a bunch of random facts instead. I'm a fish eating vegetarian who hates spiders and loves snakes. I almost never took vacations growing up. I wanted to be Pippi Longstocking (still do). I misspell about every other word I write and still struggle with grammar. I love splurging on a good high tea (which is really hard to find these days). And whatever you do, don’t tell me I can’t do something, because then I'll HAVE to do it!

Jordan Kelley

A couple ideas here for you Jason. First, for a sun protecting buttery soft long sleeve T, check out Free Fly shirts. And for a great sun hat that won’t flop in the wind while on deck, on your SUP/kayak, in your dinghy or in the water, try one from Shelta. Hope these ideas help. Thanks for all you both do. Jordan from Maine

Rena on S/V Delos

Another terrific video! Thank you for the suggestions – I plan to follow up on several of your ideas, using your links. My hat recommendation is also the Tilley – I love mine that I have had for 5 years. It stays on, is comfortable, and provides great protection. I noticed you use an Ipad at your helm. Could you recommend a great case for it? We just bought a Seasucker to stick it up at the helm, which works great, but we need a good case to protect it. Keep up the great work! FYI – We are on a Leopard 39 and moved aboard in June this year, traveling 3,000 miles up the ICW and back south – Bahamas and Caribbean next.

Jodi

Can you please tell me what you use for your quick kill for the fish as well as what brand and where did u get your drink measurer it looks like a leatherman and it has a juicer on the end of it … thanks Jodi

Damon E Cofer

Season’s Greetings! Is there a place where recurrent questions could be organized to minimize question comments from the videos? If not, there ought to be! My question(s) is/are this- could you go through the Antares “Facts for a serious liveaboard” list and respond how your Leopard Cat holds up, or how you wish things would be better arranged, in place, etc. The reason I ask (and I can’t be the only one) is because I see things in the new production boats I perceive as being nice for fair weather but not really practical in live aboard, sailing days on end, purposes… Love y’all! Living vicariously for a little longer! D

Jerry

Hey there you two, Happy Thanksgiving weekend…………………just wanted to say thanks for turning me on to your gift guide…………..I just ordered the Sport-A-Seat…..it looks fantastic and should work great in my camper van for sit up bed support, and for lying around and about !

Kay & Clyde (Clay)

Joan Paucek

Jason and Nikki, great gift ideas and thank you for sharing. I know many other followers have asked this but Nikki you really need to put out a cookbook! The meals you make are incredible! Happy Thanksgiving.

Meredith Null

Hey guys! I’m a long time follower, My farm is a Harvest Host, and we just love you guys! I am also a fair to decent seamstress. And while I’m not financially able to help you guys out like I would love to be able to do, I CAN make Jason (and Nicki if she wants one!) a linen shirt!! Send me an email with a photo or two of what you think you want, and I can make one!!

Dale May

Rosanne

Colleen Haight

Thank you for your suggestions and showing how they work!! Love your videos. Hats…, maybe you have tried them Jason, but my husband loves his Tilley’s – maybe you can find a cruiser variety you would like but they have UV protection. I have my own Tilley women’s floppy hat too. I can attest that they last a very long time – he has one going on 10 years and has been washed per the instructions. He has 2 newer ones and I am thinking of getting him a winter one for variety. They also have some organic cotton shirts. https://www.tilley.com/ Thanks again and be safe. Happy Thanksgiving – CH

Steve Wolfer

Great gift ideas! I love watching your videos. Living in Gig Harbor, Washington, I’ve been sailing for many years, always a mono hull. It’s interesting to see how your cat sails. And your kitty cats too. Keep up the good work, have fun and keep smiling. Keep sail on ……….

jim

Tammi Hollis

This is an incredible list! You gave me so many ideas for my family! I knew I loved you from the start but this list adds to the love! Happy Thanksgiving from West Palm Beach, Florida (winter months) and Traverse City, Michigan (summer months). Be safe and happy sailing!